Bob Edlin: Health workers are kicking off their day with a karakia....

Health workers are kicking off their day with a karakia, but Act MP ensures it is in their own time and not compulsory

The National Public Health Service has been getting along – it seems – on a wing and a prayer.

The Platform’s Tina Nixon drew PoO’s attention to the spiritual side of the service’s daily rituals and routines in an interview with Act MP Todd Stephenson.

This prompted our search for more information, and Google steered us to his Facebook site which included correspondence between Stephenson and the boss of Health New Zealand.

This explained:

Last week I was made aware that the National Public Health Service was holding daily karakia sessions for all staff.

That raised concerns. The public service is funded by taxpayers to deliver services to New Zealanders, and work time and resources should be focused on doing that job and delivering the Government’s priorities.

I wrote to Health New Zealand Chair Professor Lester Levy outlining why this was inappropriate, and I’m pleased that he has confirmed that the sessions are voluntary, not part of staff duties, and are now to be organised by staff themselves outside normal working hours, rather than being promoted as an all-staff activity.

That’s the right outcome. People are free to practise their beliefs in their own time, but the public service should stay focused on the job taxpayers fund it to do.

But Stephenson has much more work to do if he wants to rid public agencies of their zeal for embracing Maori prayers and spiritual practices.

PoO notes this One News report on the welcoming of a kōhatu, or “sacred stone”, at the official reopening of Picton’s London Quay after its revitalisation.

A dawn ceremony was held at the new kōhatu, named Te Punga Toitū, or the Enduring Anchor, on the corner of London Quay and High St on Tuesday. The revitalisation last year brought new pavement, raised pedestrian crossings, plant boxes and bench seating.

The kōhatu was found near Rai Valley and carved at Waikawa Marae by stonecarver Maia Hegglun, who said his carving simply revealed the story the stone had to tell.

Here at PoO, it looks like a bloody big chunk of rock.

But we weren’t looking properly.

We should have recognised

… a stone which features a combination of natural and man-made elements that represent the passage of time and the story of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui from mythological times to colonisation.

Who knew?

Hegglun, obviously.

“If you just view the bits that are carved, you don’t get much from it,” he said.

“But when you view it with the man-made bits and the natural parts together, it starts to make a little more sense.

“In order to unravel that story, all you need to do is ask questions and be observant.”

The welcome was marked by waiata before the gathered crowd was invited to touch the kōhatu.

It is unclear whether it could be touched without an invitation.

Readers of this article might also check out a Spinoff report about the rāhui put in place after last week’s landslide at Mauao.

The article explains what this means and who decides how long it lasts.

Inevitably mythology comes into considerations:

According to Tauranga Moana, Mauao was once a nameless inland mountain who fell in love with Pūwhenua, only to be rejected in favour of Ōtanewainuku. Heartbroken, Mauao asked the fairy-like patupaiarehe to drag him to the ocean to drown his sorrow. Through the night they hauled him seaward until dawn broke and the patupaiarehe fled, leaving the mountain stranded between land and sea. Caught by the light of day, he was named Mauao – mau (held fast) and ao (daylight). From grief and longing, he became a guardian of Tauranga Moana, standing watch over tides, waka, and the boundary between worlds. Now, Mauao is surrounded by grief and longing again.

The article notes that six people are presumed to have died following the landslide last Thursday at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, located at the base of Mauao.

As often happens when a tragedy occurs, local iwi have implemented a rāhui – a restriction of access to the area where the incident took place. But why? What is the logic behind rāhui, do they actually work, are they all the same and when do they end?

More important, perhaps, does a rahui work more effectively than local authorities putting up a “keep out” sign?

We ask because The Spinoff article says:

The current rāhui at Mauao, prohibiting people from climbing the maunga or swimming near it, has two main components. Firstly, there is an ongoing risk of further landslides. Secondly, there is a search still under way for those missing. Understandably, members of the public should not be near ongoing rescue efforts for a variety of reasons, including potentially hampering the search.

There’s also a different kind of safety to consider. Discovering a dead body or remains could be traumatic, especially for young people.

Usually iwi, hapū, marae, whānau, local authorities and other community members will play a role in monitoring and enforcing rāhui The Spinoff says.

This often means patrolling the beaches, monitoring activities, educating people and enforcing the rules.

To enforce a rāhui, groups may use fines, seize property, remove people or ban them from ever accessing a site again.

And:

Disregarding a rāhui can have a big impact, including spiritual harm, damage to relationships, loss of mana or emotional stress. While these may seem intangible, they often result in very real consequences for those effected.

The final question addressed by the article asked if the rāhui on Mauao will be permanent.

This raises the prospect that it might be.

At this stage, local iwi are understandably prioritising the ongoing search efforts for those missing, with daily karakia and support on the ground. Once this process is complete, they will then turn their attention to how long the rāhui should last and what the next steps will be.

Science does come into play, because a key consideration – we are told – will be a geotechnical report on the stability of the land due to be completed by the Tauranga City Council.

One spokesperson told The Spinoff a rāhui of at least six months was likely.

Why it should that be more effective than a “Keep out” notice and appropriate policing, to keep people off a dangerous site, is a question we should all be asking.

Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.